Australia: Kosciuszko National Park

Humidity Ranges and Fog:

This graph represents the average monthly humidity levels for Mount Kosciuszko in the morning and the afternoon. Typically, the morning is slightly more humid than the afternoon due to the fact that warmer air is able to hold more water vapor than cooler air, which is more common in early morning and in winter. The winter months - June, July, and August - are more humid than the summer months. Thus, fog is more prevalent in the mornings and in the winter months as well (11).

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Snow-gum-Eucalyptus-pauciflora-pauciflora-120-Seeds-/110386555231

Animals common in Kosciuszko National Park have adapted to the specific food, topography, and climate of the region. The yellow-tailed black cockatoo, for example, survives on the seeds of trees in native forests in the area and of pines, which are common in the Alps due to the cold resulting from high elevation. (28) Spotted-tail quolls, native only to Australia and Tasmania, do well in the Kosciuszko geography and climate because they reside in caves (which are present throughout the park) and seek food in woodlands and open pastureland. (29) The mountain pygmy possum is able to survive the cold in the high elevations where it lives because it has fine but dense fur and it stores fat to hibernate during the colder winter months. (30)

Other Influential Factors:

Blue Lake, formed by a glacier, is significant in the preservation of endangered species because it is a rare cirque lake, meaning it has an ampitheatre-like valley surrounding it cause by a glacier. (24) The diverse landscape of Kosciuszko National Park also adds to the influence of vegetation and wildlife. Ranging from glacial lakes to waterfalls to steep mountains and low fields, the vegetation and wildlife ranges greatly from each landscape as the temperatures and conditions range. Humans have a large impact on the vegetation and wildlife in our location, as well. Tourism can be a very good thing when people are responsible, but harm is done when the people do not take care of the land. Pollution from humans visiting the region damages the vegetation and, in turn, the animals who feed on the plants. Additionally, there are several ski resorts in Kosciuszko National Park that alter the way and where the vegetation grows as humans change the land for their own benefit. (23)

Photo of Blue Lake. http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?115414-Blue-Lake-Kosciuszko-National-Park

Environmental Threats:

Climate change is one of the biggest environmental threats to the park. The Bureau of Meteorology has recorded an increase in annual mean temperature in the park over the past decade. A decrease in snowfall “by 14-54 per cent by 2020 and by 30-93 per cent by 2050” and a loss of the alpine ecosystem is expected if this rate of climate change continues. (25) This change in climate could lead to the extinction of “15 and 40 of the 200 alpine plant species within 70 years, with a further 49 species likely to experience reductions in their distributions” as well as an increase in wildfires. (26) Climate change in this area could lead to a decrease in rainfall leading to a greater frequency of drought. Due to increased temperatures, animals in the lower areas of Australia will try to migrate to cooler temperatures in higher elevations, resulting in overcrowding. (32) Invasive species are the biggest threat to the native plants and animals in our area.

Landforms, Tectonic Activity, and Water in Kosciuszko National Park

Rock Types, Geologic History, and Plate Tectonics:

The formation of the Australian Alps was different than most other mountain ranges because as the Earth’s crust became thinner and weaker from stretching apart, hot magma from below rose to the surface to create the high plateau that would become the Australian Alps. (34) The Australian Alps as we know them today formed between roughly 100 and 60 million years ago when Zealandia (a portion of Gondwana) broke off from Australia and left the high alpine plateau behind. There have also been periods of uplift in certain parts of the mountains due to minor plate activity, which can still occur today due to the small faults running through the area. (33) After years of weathering from frost, wind, and water the Alps have been shaped to what they are today. (34) The rock types that can be found in the area are mainly igneous because magma arose from the ocean floor and cooled to form the plateau that would become the mountains. (33)

Mt. Kosciusko - Kosciusko Walk

http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/~/media/081E09666B2B401280A858AAEF01C195.ashx

Plate Boundaries:

Kosciuszko National Park is in southeast Australia, which sits far in from the boundaries of the Indo-Australian plate on which it is located. (10) For this reason, earthquakes and volcanoes are not a major concern for the region. There are several fault lines that run through or near the park, however, which have the potential to result in relatively small quakes (between 4.0 and 5.0 on the Richter Scale). (35)

The Snowy River Dam

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/pm-malcolm-turnbull-says-snowy-river-expansion-could-be-a-game-changer-for-national-power-needs/news-story/74ac65afe2fa5ef870d28416d5c1ba94

The Yarrangobilly River has also created limestone caves in the park over the past 200 million years as it chews its way through the rock. The formations are ever-changing and adventurers are often finding new caverns created by the rushing water. (38)

The Limestone Caves

http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/show-caves/yarrangobilly-south-glory-cave

Impact of Glaciers:

During the Permian Period, Australia was very close to the South Pole and was covered in large ice caps. Sedimentary basins formed after the ice melted in Southern Australia, which is where Kosciuszko National Park is located. (39) A lot of the landforms in Kosciuszko National Park were formed by the movement of ice over the land during the Great Ice Age. (40) Blue Lake, for example, is cirque a lake - a rare lake formed by the melting of a glacier. Below Blue Lake there is Headley Tarn, a moraine. Moraines are essentially small ridges of debris that have built up after being deposited along the sides of a melting glacier. (40) There is also terracing, frost-shattered boulders, and block streams in Kosciuszko National Park as a result of glaciers.